On Wednesday, the Colombian military pulled off a daring rescue of 15 hostages (including three Americans and Ingrid Betancourt, a former presidential candidate who had been held captive for 6 years, from their captivity at the hands of the insurgent group, FARC.
The above rebel group, which has financed their insurgency against Colombia with drug trafficking and kidnappings (with not a little support from Hugo Chavez), has suffered a series of setbacks in recent years. According to most estimates, the guerrillas have seen their numbers decline by half in the last few years to about 9,000 due to Colombian military actions, deaths of their leaders and defections.
In the latest operation (which coincided with John McCain's visit to the country to lend his support to a trade pact between Colombia and the US, as well as the Colombians' efforts against the drug traffic),Colombian military had infiltrated the FARC in an undercover capacity and had convinced the guerrillas to deliver 15 hostages to a central gathering point for "delivery to the prime FARC commander". Once the hostages were loaded onto undercover helicopters, they were flown to freedom. No lives were lost in the operation.
Also participating in the operation were American counterparts, who provided intelligence and logistical support to the Colombians.
Though the operation is an obvious success for the Colombian government and their president, Alvaro Uribe, not all Americans are cheering. It should be remembered that Uribe, in his recent visit to the US, was shunned by the Democratic leadership in Congress. According to people like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, Uribe and the Government of Colombia are "persona non grata" due to perceived "Human Rights" abuses against rebels and union leaders, the last group being of special concern from US labor unions, such as the Teamsters Union. The Teamsters had, in fact, criticized the trip to Colombia by Senator McCain. Democrats and labor leaders in the US oppose the pending trade pact between the US and Colombia.
(Here's a trivia question: How many Teamsters presidents can you name in the last 50 years who have not gone to prison? My point: I could care less what the historically-corrupt Teamsters Union says about our relationship with Colombia.)
The fact of the matter is that Colombia is a democratic nation that has been fighting vicious drug cartels and guerrillas for decades. There is a long list of courageous police, prosecutors, politicians, and journalists that have risked-and sacrificed their lives to stand up to the drug cartels and guerrillas. The policy of the US is to support Colombia in this endeavor and, in my view, it is the correct position. That our government played a supporting role in this latest operation is a point of pride.
It would be nice to hear some Democrat like Reid or Pelosi utter a statement of praise for the Colombian governemt for this great operation. But I won't hold my breath.
The US must continue to stand side by side with Colombia, which is arguably, our greatest ally in the region. They are fighting the good fight. Most Colombians are good people who deplore the criminality that plagues their nation. To me, it is troubling that the Democratic Party in the US has no interest in supporting Colombia.
No comments:
Post a Comment